Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the use of electric cars by the public sector.

baroness vere of norbiton: Budget 2017 included a commitment to “electrify 25% of cars in central Government department fleets by 2022” and, as part of the Road to Zero Strategy published in July 2018, the Government announced a further commitment to make 100% of the central Government car fleet ultra-low emission vehicles (zero emission or plug in hybrid) by 2030. Public sector organisations must use the product specifications set out in the Government Buying Standards (GBS) when procuring goods or services. For all vehicles the default is zero or ultra-low emission at the tailpipe. As a minimum, vehicles should meet Euro 6 emission standards. We are investing nearly £2.5 billion‎, with grants available for plug in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. This includes extra funding announced at Budget 2020 of £532 million for consumer incentives for ultra-low emission vehicles, made up of £403 million for the plug-in car grant (PICG), extending it to 2022-23; and £129.5 million to extend the plug-in grants for vans, taxis and motorcycles to 2022-23. Central Government and the wider public sector are able to take advantage of these schemes.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Unified Patent Court

lord anderson of ipswich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on research-led SMEs of the reported decision to withhold the UK's participation in the Unified Patent Court and the associated Unitary Patent.

lord callanan: Following publication of the Government’s approach to negotiations with the EU on 27th February, the Government will not be seeking continued participation in the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court. Participating in a court that applies EU law and is bound by the CJEU is inconsistent with our aims of becoming an independent self-governing nation.All businesses, including SMEs, will be able to maintain patents in the UK and challenge or enforce them before UK courts as they do currently.

Toilet Paper: Shortages

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of shortages of toilet paper; and what discussions they have had with newspaper operators about whether newspapers can be printed to be used as an alternative to toilet paper.

lord callanan: The Government is in regular contact with businesses, including retailers, to discuss the impact of Coronavirus on industry, including supply chains, and preparedness planning. On 9 March, we announced an extension of delivery hours for supermarkets and other food retailers, to help the industry respond to Coronavirus. The new measures enable food retailers to increase the frequency of deliveries to their stores, so they can move stock quickly from warehouses across the country to replenish their shelves.The Government has also introduced new measures to support businesses to keep food supply flowing on to shelves and into homes. For example, we have temporarily relaxed competition laws, allowing supermarkets to work together. The rules on driver’s hours have also been flexed to allow a higher frequency of deliveries to stores, so shelves can be replenished at pace.

Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the manufacture of electric cars in the UK.

lord callanan: The Government is seeking to lead the world in the decarbonisation of transport. We are consulting to bring forward the phaseout of petrol and diesel cars and hybrid models by 2035, or earlier. Last October, the Government announced up to £1 billion of additional funding to support electric vehicle technologies in the UK. This funding will support research and development, as well as establish UK supply chains for the large-scale production of electric vehicles. This will be done through major investments in the manufacturing of batteries, electric motors, power electronics, and hydrogen fuel cells. The UK’s Automotive Sector is innovative, productive, competitive, and well-placed to emerge successfully from these challenging times.

Aerospace Industry

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual value of the aerospace sector to the UK economy.

lord callanan: In 2018, the UK aerospace sector had an annual turnover of around £33 billion, the majority of which was generated through exports. Between 2009 and 2019, the sector had an average gross value added (GVA) of £9 billion, accounting for 5% of the UK’s total manufacturing GVA. During this period, productivity growth in the sector (measured by GVA per job) grew at a pace of over four times that of the UK economy as a whole

Domestic Appliances: Registration

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the introduction of compulsory product registration of white goods at point of sale.

lord callanan: The Government encourages consumers to register their domestic appliances and is taking proactive steps to increase the rates of product registration in the UK. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has undertaken research to survey over 4,000 consumers to understand their attitudes to product safety, including product registration. In January 2020, OPSS began a product registration research trial with the aim of increasing product registration rates by applying behavioural principles. The trial will monitor the rates of product registration and the data collected will be used to develop further initiatives to increase product registration by consumers. The Government keeps all options under review and is keen to ensure that any activity to increase the rate of product registration is evidence based and proportionate.

Domestic Appliances: Labelling

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to requiring manufacturers to fit white goods with a standardised rating plate in an identical position on allsuch goods for the purpose of easy product identification.

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to improving the traceability of white goods.

lord callanan: The Government recognises the value of being able to identify a product following a product safety incident. Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, before placing electrical equipment on the market, a manufacturer must ensure that it bears a type, batch or serial number to allow for its identification. Research commissioned by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has identified a number of potential systems for the indelible marking of white goods. OPSS will further explore with key stakeholders the barriers which are currently preventing industry from implementing such a system.

Domestic Appliances: Secondhand Goods

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to improving the safety of white goods that are sold second hand.

lord callanan: The law requires that only safe products may be placed on the market, whether they are new or second hand. Electrical products placed on the market must comply with the legal safety requirements of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (or of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 if they were placed on the market before December 2016). The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is rolling out training to front line Trading Standards Officers on the safety of second-hand electrical goods later this year. In addition, OPSS will be publishing good practice guidance on the responsibilities for those who sell second-hand electrical goods. The Chief Executive of OPSS has also written to the Charity Retailers Association, urging them to ensure electrical products sold in charity shops are safe. The Association covers almost 9,000 charity and second-hand shops in the UK.

Hydroelectric Power

lord wallace of saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support further micro-hydropower schemes on rivers within the UK as part of a transition to renewable energy.

lord callanan: Meeting net zero is likely to lead to electricity demand doubling by 2050 as other sectors are electrified which will require a generation mix based primarily on renewables. The government acknowledges the valuable contribution of hydropower to the UK energy mix over many decades, including at times when other renewables do not generate. Most hydro capacity was installed during the last century in Scotland, with a smaller amount in Wales and England. Most of these installations are still operating. Government schemes have supported hydro over many years. Hydro is a mature technology and sites for large projects have generally been exhausted, leaving only smaller schemes to be developed. It should be noted that projections from the comprehensive review for small hydro deployment were met five years early. Introduced last year, the Smart Export Guarantee gives small scale low-carbon electricity generators, such as hydro, the right to be paid for the renewable electricity they export to the grid.

Hydroelectric Power

lord wallace of saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government what studiesthey have commissioned on the potential contribution that the harnessing of hydropower from rivers may make to the UK's energy requirements.

lord callanan: Hydropower accounts for almost 2% of total electricity generation in the UK with a capacity of almost 2GW. Studies in Scotland, England and Wales indicate that there is a maximum remaining technical potential of around 1.5GW for small-scale hydro across these countries, with the majority in Scotland. Economic and environmental constraints mean that in practice the viable remaining resource is less than 1GW or 1% of total electricity generation capacity.

Copyright: EU Law

baroness quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatis their policy regarding UK implementation of the 2019 Copyright Directive.

lord callanan: The deadline for implementing the EU Copyright Directive is 7 June 2021. The United Kingdom left the European Union on the 31 January and the transition period will end on 31 December 2020. Therefore, the United Kingdom will not be required to implement the Directive, and the Government has no plans to do so.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Iran: Palestinians

lord polak: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of Iran's (1) involvement in, and (2) policy of, encouraging peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Iran continues to support a number of militant and proscribed groups in the region, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Palestinian rejectionist groups. This support is concerning, and directly undermines prospects for regional security and lasting peace in the region. We are clear that we want to see the creation of a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian state - living in peace and security, side by side with Israel. We will continue to work with likeminded partners to advance the Middle East Peace Process, countering those who embrace violence.

COE Parliamentary Assembly

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any reputational damage to the UK caused by parliamentarians they appoint tothe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe joining political groupings which include parliamentarians with extremist views.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: All members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are elected or appointed from the members of their national parliaments. Membership of the political groupings within the Parliamentary Assembly is a matter for the political groups themselves.

United Arab Emirates: Foreign Relations

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current state of bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK has a longstanding close relationship with the UAE, based on historically strong people, historic and economic links. We cooperate on a number of issues from trade, defence and regional security issues to cultural cooperation, climate change and girls' education.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Art Works

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government who authorised the payment to a civil servant as a result of offence allegedly caused by a royal portrait on display in the Northern Ireland Office; from which Department's budget that money came; whether that civil servant remains employed by the Northern Ireland Office; and if so, in what role.

viscount younger of leckie: It would not be appropriate to comment on an individual case. Any compensation payments made by the Northern Ireland Office would be dealt with in line with the guidance in Managing Public Money. Information on employees’ personal data is sensitive, so I am unable to provide any details on staff members’ current employment or otherwise.

Economic Situation: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the effect of Budget 2020, announced on 11 March, on the Northern Ireland economy.

viscount younger of leckie: In the Budget, Northern Ireland was provided with £216m in additional investment to support the Executive in delivering the public’s priorities. The Northern Ireland economy will benefit from other announcements in the Budget on tax cuts, including an increase to National Insurance thresholds and the Employment Allowance. The Budget also allocated an additional £260m to Northern Ireland for Covid-19 related measures. The Budget and subsequent announcements by the Chancellor has provided the Northern Ireland Executive with over £900m to support people and business in Northern Ireland through the impacts of Covid-19.

Coronavirus: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the containment of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland.

viscount younger of leckie: The UK-wide response to Covid-19 has been a collaboration between the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations. It is important that Ministers and officials continue to cooperate fully and openly regarding the response to Covid-19. NIO Ministers have been attending COBR meetings alongside the NI Health Minister and the First Minister and deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland. The Department is also speaking regularly to the Northern Ireland party leaders. NIO officials maintain close regular contact with the NI Civil Service, coordinating the public health response, ensuring provision for Northern Ireland is included in the Coronavirus Bill currently going through Parliament, and establishing a UK-wide approach to Covid-19 preparations.

UK Trade with EU: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of the Northern Ireland business community on (1) the future trading arrangements with the EU, and (2) the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

viscount younger of leckie: The Government is committed to engagement with the business community in Northern Ireland in relation to the Protocol and our future trading arrangements with the EU. The Secretary of State and Minister of State for Northern Ireland have had the opportunity to engage with a range of business representatives in Northern Ireland in recent weeks, and look forward to continuing positive and constructive discussions during the coming months.

Attorney General

Rape: Prosecutions

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action, if any, they have taken in response to the failure of the Crown Prosecution Service toshare the findings of its internal review into unprosecuted rape cases with the HM Crown Prosecution Service InspectorateRape Inspection 2019.

lord keen of elie: The scope and data set for the HMCPSI inspection was much broader than CPS’ internal report. It therefore would not have been appropriate to share the report itself while the inspection was ongoing. The report subsequently was shared with both the inspectorate and the Attorney General’s Office in January.I am pleased that the CPS has already accepted all recommendations made in HMCPSI’s Rape Inspection 2019 report and remains a partner in the ongoing cross-Government rape review. This will provide valuable insight into this complex area across the whole criminal justice system, and the CPS is committed to addressing any issues the review highlights openly and honestly.

Department for Education

Pupils: Gender Recognition

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on the involvement of parents in discussions between a school and a pupil concerning the pupil’s wish to identify as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth;and which agencies a school should consult, or ask permission from, before deciding to exclude parents from any such discussions.

baroness berridge: The department strongly believes that that all children should be supported whilst growing up, so they can thrive and reach their potential in a safe and respectful environment. We recognise these issues are complex and sensitive matters to navigate. Schools and school leaders are well placed to work with parents, pupils and the appropriate range of public services available to support individual children.

Skilled Workers: Vacancies

lord browne of belmont: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of job vacancies which remain unfilled because of skill shortages among potential applicants; and what steps they are taking to introduce training courses and apprenticeships to fill that gap.

baroness berridge: The Employer Skills Survey 2017 identified 1,007,000 vacancies, of which 226,000 were skill-shortage vacancies (SSVs) – representing 22% of all vacancies. This percentage has remained broadly stable over several waves of the survey – 23% in 2015. Employers were most likely to report SSVs for Skilled Trades (42% of all Skilled Trades vacancies were SSVs), Machine Operatives (31% of all these vacancies were SSVs) and Professionals (30% of all these vacancies were SSVs). These proportions are also in line with 2015 percentages. We are awaiting results of the 2019 survey. We have put in place a range of measures to tackle skills gaps. We are making apprenticeships longer, better, with more off-the-job training and proper assessment at the end, with new standards across all levels being designed and driven by the industry so they can equip people with the skills they need. We will be investing up to £500 million a year in T levels, a high quality technical alternative to A levels, which will be more rigorous than current vocational courses and involve employers in their development to ensure the qualifications have real labour market value.We also investing up to £290 million of capital funding to establish 20 new Institutes of Technology, which will be the pinnacle of technical training offering higher technical education and training in key sectors such as digital, construction, advanced manufacturing and engineering. We have also invested £100 million into establishing a National Retaining Scheme, which will help prepare adults for future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs. On top of this we are investing an extra £3 billion, over the course of this Parliament, for a new National Skills Fund to help people learn new skills and prepare for the economy of the future. The fund will help ensure that businesses can find and hire the workers they need and help people fulfil their potential.

Family Drug and Alcohol Court

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many ministerial visits have been made to Family Drug and Alcohol Court teams in the last twelve months; and which teams have been visited.

baroness berridge: There have been no ministerial visits made to Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) teams in the last twelve months. Whilst there have been no ministerial visits to FDAC teams in the past 12 months, the government’s Supporting Families: Investing in Practice programme is currently investing over £17 million to enable local authorities to adapt one of three successful targeted Innovation Programme projects that have the strongest evidence of successfully keeping families together. Local authorities will be supported to embed one of three models and one of these models is FDACs. Expressions of Interest were invited from all local authorities. The successful local authorities for FDACs were announced on 9 August 2019. Local authorities will be ready to start on 1 April 2020 and evaluation will take place over a two-year period. Findings are scheduled to be published in Summer 2022.

Family Drug and Alcohol Court

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to support Family Drug and Alcohol Court teams beyond the end of the Supporting Families: Investing in Practice programme.

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they will offer to areas which were unsuccessful in applying for Supporting Families: Investing in Practice funding in order to establish a Family Drug and Alcohol Court team.

baroness berridge: We are investing approximately £17 million in the Supporting Families: Investing in Practice (SFIP) programme to roll out innovation models that have evidence of successfully keeping families together.Through this programme, we are testing the impact that Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs) can have in improving outcomes for children and families.The evaluation work carried out by the What Works for Children’s Social Care will help us to identify how best to support vulnerable children and their families through FDACs.FDACs offer important support to families. Those local areas who were unsuccessful in the SFIP programme can choose to establish or commission these services locally. The government will be sharing the evaluation of the programme to help with broader set up.

Universities: Freedom of Expression

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of universities rescinding invitations from speakers; and what plans, if any, they have to reduce funding to universities when that happens.

baroness berridge: The government does not support no-platforming of individuals or organisations.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has made it clear that he is concerned about the cases reported in the press where external speakers are alleged to have been no-platformed, students and their societies are reportedly having their voices restricted and academics are not able to pursue research projects. It is important that universities take robust action to prevent this happening.This government has committed to strengthen academic freedom and free speech in universities and ensure they are places where free speech and debate can thrive – this includes considering the underpinning legal framework. We have made it clear that if universities do not uphold free speech, the government will.

Mandarin Language: Education

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the uptake of Mandarin in schools in England.

baroness berridge: The government believes that learning other languages is important in our globalised economy, as well as helping pupils to prepare for life. As part of this aim, we are funding an intensive language programme which aims to see at least 5,000 young people on track towards fluency in Mandarin Chinese by 2020.The programme started in 14 secondary schools in 2016, building to 76 schools in the current academic year, with around 5,000 pupils now studying Mandarin. The Mandarin Excellence Programme is intellectually enriching for students and gives them a significant advantage when they enter the world of work. Pupils on the programme study Mandarin for eight hours a week, at least four hours of which are teacher-taught classroom lessons – a significant increase on the time pupils usually spend on the subject. More widely, the department has introduced the English Baccalaureate performance measure, which includes languages, and has seen the proportion of GCSE entries from pupils in state-funded schools in a modern foreign language increase from 40% in 2010 to 47% in 2019. The reformed national curriculum now makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in key stage 2.

Ministry of Justice

Youth Justice Board

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the future of the Youth Justice Board.

lord keen of elie: The Youth Justice Board will continue to fulfil its role in overseeing the youth justice system. Once a new chair is appointed, they may wish to discuss their vision for the future of the Youth Justice Board with Ministers.

Youth Offending Teams: Finance

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of current funding streams to fund youth diversion activity undertaken by youth offending teams.

lord keen of elie: Ministry of Justice funding for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) is delivered through the Youth Justice Board (YJB), which provides an annual grant to local authorities to deliver youth offending services. Though varying by YOT, on average this makes up less than a third of the funding YOTs receive. Local authorities and partner agencies provide the rest of their funding. The YJB does not specify how the grant should be spent. Local authorities hold the statutory responsibility to deliver youth justice services in their area and services are designed according to local context and needs. Diversion from the criminal justice system is not a statutory requirement for Youth Offending Teams, however they may choose to pay for these activities based on locally identified needs and priorities.

Probate

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government how long, on average, it takes to gain grant of probate following an application for probate.

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether people can telephone a probate registry to find out how their application is progressing; and what is the average length of time for such telephone calls to be answered.

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government how long, on average, it takes to be granted probate after filing inheritance tax forms with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

lord keen of elie: Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) internal management information (which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics) has been used to show average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued in February 2020.Measure Average Weeks to issued Median to issue Submission to issue for all grants issued in the month (including those stopped for queries or missing documentation)73From submission to issue for grants issued in the month that were not stopped.43These figures include applications made via the online service and use the receipt date of the digital application for recording the time of issue, rather than the time the necessary supporting documentation is sent to HMCTS in order to start processing the application. The data has been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods.Probate users can telephone the national Courts and Tribunal Service Centres with queries relating to Probate applications. In the month of February 2020, calls were answered within 3 minutes on average.Official statistics are not held or published on the average length of time to grant probate after the filing of an inheritance tax form.

Prisoners: Gender Recognition

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 13 March (HL2223), what guidance is given to prison governors on how to assess the balance between the rights of transgender individuals in custody and those of others in custody around them, as referred to in the Ministry of Justice Policy Framework on The care and management of individuals who are transgender; what examples are provided to illustrate this guidance; and how this guidance enables prison governors to assess the appropriate balance between the risk to inmates of a women's prison from being housed with a biologically male transgender prisoner who has a history of sexual offending and the risk of serious harm to the transgender prisoner if they were housed in a men's prison.

lord keen of elie: Governors do not have jurisdiction over the estate that a transgender individual is housed within. Rather, Complex Case Boards (CCBs) assess cases of transfers of transgender individuals between the male and female estates. These are chaired by Prison Group Directors (PGDs), who hold the ultimate responsibility for decisions. They are aided by experts and staff who have expertise on transgender identity and/or on the individual in question.All PGDs who chair such boards are specially trained—in part using case studies, and many also have direct experience of cases. Additionally, there are core members of the CCB process who are invited to all CCBs and have experience of previous cases they have been involved with.If a transgender female must legally be housed in the female estate, but a CCB deems their risk too high to be managed safely within the general population, HMPPS have alternative provision to enable this – namely through location on HMP Downview E Wing.The ‘Care and management of individuals who are transgender’ Policy Framework was published on gov.uk within the Prison & Probation Policy Frameworks collection. Operational guidance was also published to accompany the Policy Framework which is available to all Governors and staff, to help them care for and manage transgender individuals. Additionally, E Learning on how best to care for and manage transgender individuals is also available to all Governors and staff.

Department for International Trade

Trade: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they havehad with international counterparts on the administration of trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

viscount younger of leckie: The UK Government has agreed arrangements which avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in a Protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement.We are considering the best way to implement the Protocol and we will continue to engage with the EU. In developing our policy, alongside WTO rules, we are also taking into consideration a broader set of international obligations, including those under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. This work will inform communications with international counterparts, where relevant.

Exports

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their Export Strategy.

viscount younger of leckie: We launched the Export Strategy in August 2018 with the goal of strengthening the UK’s position as a global trading nation.I’m pleased to say that UK exports are at a record high, with the latest figures showing exports of £705.1 billion in the 12 months to January 2020. That is an increase of 7% year-on-year.

Trade Agreements

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made by the Secretary of State for International Trade with her counterparts in non-EU countries on any opportunities for trade deals after the transition period.

viscount younger of leckie: While there are many other markets the UK will look to for new agreements in the future, our shared values and strength of trade with the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, make them the right places to focus our initial attention. We have published our negotiation objectives for a UK-US free trade agreement. We will publish more details on our approach to other priority partners in due course. We are also continuing our programme to replicate the effects of existing EU trade agreements to ensure continuity for UK businesses following the transition period. By the time we left the EU, we had signed trade continuity agreements with 48 countries. My Rt Hon Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (Conor Burns) is leading for the Department on engagement with Nations beyond US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Renewable Energy: Exports

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support exports by the renewable energy sector.

viscount younger of leckie: The Department for International Trade (DIT) undertakes a range of activities to support exports from the renewable energy sector, including those under the ‘GREAT’ campaign. DIT’s renewable energy sector team engages with UK exporters, and our international network of trade and investment advisors offers further help to exporters, with renewable energy and clean growth key themes.For example, last year the Department worked closely with Taiwan, signing a Memorandum of Understanding to open up Taiwan’s offshore wind opportunities for UK companies. The offshore wind sector deal commits DIT and industry to increase offshore wind exports fivefold to £2.6 billion by 2030.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Wind Power: Planning Permission

baroness hayman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement on 2 March that Contracts for Difference will in future be open to onshore wind projects, what plans they have to review the planning regime for onshore wind projects in England.

baroness bloomfield of hinton waldrist: Onshore wind has deployed successfully to date and is an important part of our energy mix. The Government currently has no plans to revisit national planning policy for onshore wind energy schemes. The National Planning Policy Framework confirms planning’s important role in tackling climate change and making the transition to a low carbon economy, setting out that plans should provide a positive strategy for energy supply from renewable sources. In the case of wind energy, national planning policy sets out that planning permission for new wind energy projects should only be granted if the development site is in an area identified as suitable for wind energy development in a local or neighbourhood plan and, following consultation, it can be demonstrated that the planning impacts identified by the affected local community have been fully addressed and the proposal has their backing.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Asbestos

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to (1) maintainthe total prohibition on the use of asbestos, and(2) rule out any instance of permitting products containing up to one per cent of asbestos as per regulations in the United States, after December 2020.

lord goldsmith of richmond park: At the end of the transition period, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020) will convert the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation into domestic law. All existing EU REACH restrictions will be carried over to UK REACH at that point, including those relating to asbestos. The Government has no plans to revise these restrictions or alter the way asbestos is regulated in the UK.

Animal Products and Food: Imports

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatis their policy on the maintenance of sanitary and phytosanitary standards for imported (1) agrifood, and (2) animal, products after the transition period.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government remains committed to promoting robust food standards nationally and internationally, to protect animal and plant health and consumer interests, and ensure that consumers can have confidence in the food they buy. We will keep our existing UK legislation, and the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 carried over EU law into UK law, ready for the end of the Transition Period. Decisions on food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary standards will be based on independent, science and evidence-based advice.

Home Office

Asylum

baroness finlay of llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people qualified for asylum in the UK in each of the last three years; and how many of those people were known to be qualified doctors.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office does not record the number of those that have been granted asylum in the UK over the past three years that are known to be qualifiedDoctors.The Home Office publishes a range of data on asylum seekers and refugees in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of asylum grants for the last three years is within the table below and can be found in table ASY_02a of the published Immigration statisticswww.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2019/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement  201720182019Total grants6,7796,93110,804Asylum5,9575,5579,404Humanitarian Protection146582642Discretionary Leave8410471UASC Leave417344181Other Grants175344506

Visas

lord bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to seek equality of treatment after 31 December for EU citizens visiting the UK who will be entitled to a six month visa and UK citizens visiting the EU who could be restricted to a 90 day visa, if an agreement is not reached.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has announced that EU, EEA and Swiss nationals will be able to continue to travel to the UK for holidays or short-term trips without needing a visa from the end of the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU.From 1 January 2021, EU nationals intending to come to the UK on a long-term basis to live, work or study will need to do so under the Future Points-Based System. This is without prejudice to those who acquire status through the EU Settlement Scheme.The EU has also legislated not to impose visas on UK tourists or short-term visitors. In line with the Schengen Border Code, UK nationals who intend to stay in the Schengen area for longer than 90 days in any 180-day period may need a visa or permit from the relevant Member State to do so.These arrangements are not dependent on whether or not the Government concludes a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU.

Migrant Workers: Physiotherapy

baroness masham of ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the points-based immigration system enables registered physiotherapists to be eligible for an NHS visa.

baroness williams of trafford: Physiotherapists are already eligible to come to the UK under Tier 2, the UK’s main route for skilled migrants. These roles will continue to be eligible under the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System.The Government has also accepted the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation in their report on “A Points-based System and Salary Thresholds for Immigration” on occupations which should be subject to formal pay scales. This means physiotherapists will need to be paid in line the ‘Agenda for Change’ pay scales.The Government’s manifesto set out plans for improving the visa system for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, including physiotherapists. Further details will be published in due course.

College of Policing: Recruitment

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to advertise for a permanent Chair of the College of Policing.

baroness williams of trafford: The process to recruit a permanent Chair of the College of Policing will commence shortly and will follow the process set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Police ICT Company: Finance

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much financial support they have given to the Police ICT Company since its establishment.

baroness williams of trafford: To date, the Home Office has invested £6,365,640 in the Police ICT Company.In 2018 the Home Office made an initial investment of £3,500,000 for the development and subsequent implementation of phase one of its transformation programme.In 2019, The Home Office invested a further £2,865,640 for the second phase of the transformation programme.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Construction

baroness young of old scone: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement in Autumn Budget 2017, published on 22 November 2017, that “the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence will adopt a presumption in favour of offsite construction by 2019 across suitable capital programmes”, how often offsite options have been (1) offered as part of the decision on a contract, (2) agreed, and (3) rejected, by each such Department.

baroness young of old scone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports by (1) the Department for Transport, (2) the Department of Health, (3) the Department for Education, (4) the Ministry of Justice, (5) the Ministry of Defence, and (6) the Government, have been made on the implementation and progress towards their policy of those Departments adopting a presumption in favour of offsite construction by 2019; and whether any such reports have been published.

baroness young of old scone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of the offsite construction contracts which have been awarded by (1) the Department for Transport, (2) the Department of Health, (3) the Department for Education, (4) the Ministry of Justice, and (5) the Ministry of Defence, in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, and (c) 2019.

lord true: The requested contractual information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office as these contracts are awarded by departments and their delivery bodies.Since the announcement of the presumption in favour of off-site construction, the government has continued to drive the agenda of modernising construction by working with the Department for Transport, the Department of Health, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as publishing documents such as The Construction Sector Deal and Transforming Infrastructure Performance, which outlines the government’s plan to improve the delivery and performance of infrastructure and boost construction sector productivity.

Civil Service: Location

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the 22,000 civil service roles due to be moved out of London will be (1) of Grade 7 or below, and (2) of Grade SCS1 and above; and when they expect these roles will be filled.

lord true: The Government has committed to relocating a minimum of 22,000 Civil Service roles outside of central London over the next decade, this will include the West Midlands alongside other parts of the UK. There is now a policy presumption against the creation of new public bodies in London.As part of the Places for Growth programme, the Government will seek to establish sustainable career pathways into senior grades so that London is not the only route for progression to the Senior Civil Service. The programme is working with departments and public bodies to develop plans that ensure that roles across all grades are relocated.

Treasury

H2O Asset Management

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the announcement by H20 Asset Management on 10 March that clients face "surprisingly large losses", what plans they have to investigate that company's risk control strategies and executive leadership.

lord agnew of oulton: This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Financial Markets

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they havetosecure extra dollar swap arrangements to support trade and financial settlements.

lord agnew of oulton: Dollar swap line arrangements are made between central banks, and are therefore a matter for the Bank of England.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

National Security: China

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made in relation to their decision to award contracts to Huawei and other companies of the implications of the government of China's National Intelligence Law requiring Chinese organisations and citizens to support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.

baroness barran: Last year, the Government carried out a comprehensive, evidence-based, review of the telecoms supply chain, supported by security analysis from our world-leading cybersecurity experts. This led to our decision, announced on 28 January, that high risk vendors should be excluded from those parts of the 5G and full fibre networks that are critical to security (“the core”), and their presence in the rest of the UK’s networks should be limited to 35 per cent, with further restrictions in sensitive geographic locations. In making this decision, the Government took into account the full range of issues and risks. This included consideration of the fact that Huawei is a Chinese company that is subject to China’s national intelligence law. The controls we have set out on high risk vendors constitute some of the toughest security measures in the telecoms sector in the world.

Arts: UK Relations with EU

lord black of brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government why any reference to the creative industries was omitted from the proposals contained in The Future Relationship with the EU: The UK’s Approach toNegotiations (CP211), published in February.

baroness barran: The creative industries are diverse in nature, and therefore a number of cross-cutting areas within the proposals will be relevant to them. We want a relationship with the EU which is based on friendly cooperation between sovereign equals, and centred on free trade. As part of this, the UK is committed to supporting its thriving cultural and creative economy. In 2018, the Creative Industries contributed over £111bn to the UK economy, exporting over £35bn in services. As such, we will continue to support and celebrate cultural cooperation with EU Member States - with whom we share our history and values - as well as with partners around the world to ensure the UK’s vibrant cultural and creative industries continue to thrive.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Hereditary Peers: By-elections

lord grocott: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker,  further to the Written Answers by the Senior Deputy Speaker(Lord McFall of Alcluith) on 4 July 2018 (HL8851) and 18 July 2018 (HL9279), what hereditary peer by-elections have taken place under the terms of the House of Lords Act 1999 since the retirement of the Earl Baldwin of Bewdley on 9 May 2018; and in each of those by-elections, how many (1) candidates, and (2) electors, there were; and what was (a) the number of votes cast for the winning candidate, and (b) the percentage of the electorate who voted, in each case.

lord mcfall of alcluith: Since the retirement of Earl Baldwin of Bewdley there have been hereditary peer by-elections held following the deaths of Viscount Slim and Lord Skelmersdale and the retirements of Lord Northbourne and Lord Glentoran. The details of each by-election are as follows: Vacancy created byNumber of candidatesNumber of electorsNumber of votes cast for winnerTurnoutFull detailsLord Glentoran11472691.48%https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2018/Hereditary-peers-by-election-result-(Glentoran).pdfLord Northbourne11311493.54%https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2018/Result-by-election-28-11-18.pdfLord Skelmersdale1678511032.99%https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2019/Result-by-election-23-01-19.pdfViscount Slim14311890.32%https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2019/Result-by-election-27-03-19.pdf

Hereditary Peers: By-elections

lord grocott: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker which peers would form the electorate in hereditary peer by-elections taking place under the terms of the House of Lords Act 1999 for a (1) Conservative, (2) Crossbench, (3) Labour, and (4) Liberal Democrat, vacancy.

lord mcfall of alcluith: The following members, minus whichever member had created the vacancy, would be the electorate for a hereditary peer by-election for a vacancy in each party or group. In the event of a by-election to replace a Conservative hereditary peer, the electorate would be: The Earl of ArranLord Ashton of HydeLord Astor of HeverViscount AstorEarl AttleeLord BethellLord BorwickLord Brabazon of TaraViscount BridgemanLord Brougham and VauxThe Earl of CaithnessEarl CathcartLord ColgrainLord ColwynThe Earl of CourtownLord CrathorneLord De MauleyLord DenhamThe Earl of DundeeViscount EcclesLord EltonLord Fairfax of CameronLord GeddesLord GlenarthurViscount GoschenLord HenleyThe Earl of HomeEarl HoweThe Earl of LindsayThe Earl of LiverpoolLord LucasLord MancroftThe Duke of MontroseLord MoynihanLord NorthbrookLord ReayViscount RidleyLord RotherwickLord SelsdonThe Earl of ShrewsburyLord StrathclydeLord SwinfenLord TrefgarneViscount TrenchardViscount UllswaterViscount Younger of Leckie In the event of a by-election to replace a crossbench hereditary peer, the electorate would be: Lord AberdareViscount BrookeboroughLord CarringtonThe Earl of ClancartyViscount Colville of CulrossThe Earl of Cork and OrreryViscount CraigavonLord CromwellThe Earl of DevonThe Earl of ErrollViscount FalklandLord FreybergLord GreenwayLord HyltonThe Earl of ListowelThe Earl of LyttonThe Countess of MarLord MountevansLord PalmerEarl PeelLord RavensdaleThe Earl of RosslynLord Russell of LiverpoolThe Earl of SandwichThe Duke of SomersetLord St John of BletsoThe Earl of StairLord ThurlowLord Trevethin and OakseyLord Vaux of HarrowdenViscount Waverley In the event of a by-election to replace a Labour hereditary peer, the electorate would be:  Lord GrantchesterViscount HanworthLord ReaViscount Simon In the event of a by-election to replace a Liberal Democrat hereditary peer, the electorate would be: Lord AddingtonThe Earl of GlasgowViscount Thurso There are some members sitting in the House as excepted hereditary peers who have changed their party or group affiliation. If a vacancy were created by one of those members leaving the House, the seat in the House would revert back to the previous party or group. However, while those members are not sitting in their original party or group, they do not form part of the electorate for any hereditary peer by-elections that may arise in those groupings.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government under which circumstances a service provider may require a person to provide a gender recognition certificate as a condition of providing services.

baroness berridge: A Gender Recognition Certificate is a private, legal document which a person would not usually be required to produce as a condition of accessing services, in the same way that a person would not usually be asked to produce their birth certificate. If evidence of gender is required to access a service, it will normally be possible to provide it in the form of other documents, for example a driving licence or a passport.The Equality Act allows service providers to offer services to one sex only, for example men’s or women’s toilets or changing rooms. Transgender people can be excluded from single-sex facilities if service providers have a legitimate reason for doing so and if exclusion is the least discriminatory way to proceed.